


The Pawfect Meeting

by FestiveFerret



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dogs, Falling In Love, Fluff, Kid Peter Parker, Kidfic, Kids, M/M, Meet-Cute, Misunderstandings, Mpreg, Parent Tony Stark, Secrets, Single Parent AU, Toast the dog, bear the dog - Freeform, dog park
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24030262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FestiveFerret/pseuds/FestiveFerret
Summary: Steve's annoyed when a man brings his kid to the dog park without a dog - it's a dog park, not a daycare - but the kid turns out to be calm and gentle, and the dad turns out to be smoking hot.Then he turns out to be sweet, and kind, and funny, and wonderful too...
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 78
Kudos: 1394
Collections: POTS (18+) Brag Bucket 2020





	The Pawfect Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starksnack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starksnack/gifts).



> PLEASE NOTE: This fic contains mpreg without an explanation. Tony can just get pregnant - you can assume any explanation you want. It's not gone into in detail, but it's a Major Fact of the fic.
> 
> This is a gift for starksnack as a prize for the PotS server Brag Bucket event. Congrats and thank you for participating! I hope you like it! <3
> 
> Thank you to ashes0909 for beta and to betheflame for helping me brainstorm.

Steve shoved his hands in his pockets to try and warm them up, his eyes cutting between Bear and Toast as they made their way around the fenced park. Bear had been up to his usual, meandering his massive bulk around the border and checking every human for pats and cookies. His hips had been a bit stiff when they arrived, but they were easing up now. Toast had bonded almost immediately with a smooth coated retriever and the two of them had been doing sleek, speedy zoomies for nearly half an hour now, taking breaks only to chase balls and greet the new arrivals.

Speaking of new arrivals, the gate clicked, and Steve looked up and frowned. A man was pushing the outer airlock gate closed, but instead of a leash in his hand, he was holding the mitten of a young child, following him into the park. Steve took a surreptitious glance around the park to see if the new pair belonged to anyone already there, but no one seemed to recognize them, and no dog ran up to say hi. 

Steve huffed and bit his tongue, looking up again to find Toast and make sure she wasn't eyeing up the kid with concern. She was still figuring out what it meant that people came in miniature and didn't trust the toddling way they walked or their tendency to scream and grab. Steve had made amazing progress with the little retriever mix over the six months he'd had her, but one ill-timed grab from a rough kid could ruin it all. 

He shuffled a little closer, trying not to look obvious about the way he was putting himself between the group of playing dogs and the man with his kid. 

"Okay, Peter. What are the rules?" The man was speaking to his kid, but his voice carried through the crisp, Spring air and Steve couldn't help but listen in.

"No running," the kid - Peter, apparently - said. "No yelling. Ask before I can pet it, and if I'm bad we're going right home, no second chances."

"Good boy." The man crouched low to the ground and straightened the kid's jacket. "Also?"

"Also I can't take them home."

"Unless," the man prompted.

"Unless I can fit them in my pocket and run  _ really  _ fast enough that the owner can't catch me."

"Right on." The man pulled the kids hat over his eyes, making him giggle, then straightened up. "Alright then, off you go." He tapped the back of the kid's head and he shuffled off towards the group of dogs, hands clasped in front of him.

Steve watched, tense, as Toast spotted him and approached, but the kid stayed very still, even when she huffed out a nervous, little half-bark. He held out one calm mitten and waited as she tip-toed closer to sniff it. He giggled quietly when she did and her body language relaxed, apparently realizing he was a human and not some unknown creature wrapped in a parka. She stepped closer to sniff his cheek then licked him and he giggled again, both hands coming up to cover his face. On a mission now - and probably finding remnants of peanut and jelly or something - Toast shoved her nose in and licked again.

"Toast," Steve warned, stepping closer, but the man sidled up next to him.

"It's okay. He loves it. Unless you're trying to teach her not to, or something."

"Oh. No, I mean, as long as he's okay."

"He's better than okay. This is his fucking dream." The man paused. "Thanks."

Steve wasn't sure what he was being thanked for but he nodded.

"You come here often?" the man asked, and Steve couldn't help snorting cause it sounded like such a line. That made the man laugh too and bite his lip, which drew Steve's eyes there.

Now that he was up close, Steve could see how attractive he was. "Pretty much every day," Steve said.

The man nodded. "Nice. Your dog is beautiful."

"Thank you. Your kid's - uh - really well behaved."

The man laughed again. "Got him trained pretty well. This was a reward for finishing his big school project. It had already led to about four meltdowns so I pulled out the big guns."

"Kid likes dogs, huh?"

"Oh god, yeah. All animals, really. And we can't have one - I work really long hours, and his babysitter is allergic, and I couldn't ask her to walk a dog or feed a cat as well as a kid, so yeah - Not right now, anyway. I know it's shitty to bring my kid here like the dog park is a playground, but I really appreciate it. This is going to get me good dad points for about six years, if I play it right."

Steve blinked at all the words tumbling out of the man's mouth, and he found himself shaking his head. "No, no. It's fine. I think kids should spend time with animals when they're young, so they don't develop fears. It's good." He felt his cheeks heating as he contradicted what he'd been thinking when the man had arrived. He tried to convince himself it had nothing to do with the pair of deep, brown eyes he was trying not to tumble into, but he kept losing his train of thought.

Steve was also trying very hard not to think about the way the man had said "babysitter" instead of another parent. Was he a single parent? As in… single? Steve coughed into his glove and shuffled his feet.

"Tony, by the way," the man said.

"Steve." Bear managed to totter his way over, and Steve bent and rubbed a hand through his thick fur, making him grin. "Hey, bud."

"This one yours too?"

"Yeah. He's an old boy, now. Can't quite keep up with his sister, so I bring them both here so they can do things at their own pace."

"Are you sure that's a dog and not a polar bear?"

Steve laughed. "That's how he got his name, Bear. And no, I'm really not sure. He's at least  _ part  _ malamute, but who knows..." 

Toast had given up on licking leftover lunch off the boy's face and had zoomed off so the little boy speedwalked over to Steve and Bear.

"May I pet him please?" he asked, his mitten already inching over towards Bear's neck.

"Go right ahead," Steve said, then, feeling like he should reinforce the man's lessons, added, "Thanks for asking."

The little boy started rubbing his mittens over Bear's side with a soft squeal of delight and Bear let his tongue loll out, leaning into the touch. "Um, sir, can I give him a treat?"

"They're just the dehydrated liver ones," Tony added.

"Oh, sure."

The little boy held his hand out and Tony dug a treat out of one of his pockets. He gave it to the kid who held his palm out flat for Bear to lick the cookie off of.

Tony winked at Steve. "He bought them with his pocket money."

"Wow. You really like dogs, huh?" Steve asked the boy, who nodded, grinning.

Peter spent the next ten minutes following Bear around the park, apparently preferring his slow, predictable pace over the excitable, more exuberant younger dogs. Every time Bear stopped to sniff something, the boy petted him gently until they started moving again. Steve could see his mouth moving, talking to the dog the whole time. It was making his chest ache a bit to see. He'd always liked kids, but when he hadn't found someone to raise them with by twenty-seven, he was starting to think it'd never happen. But when the broody feelings hit, they hit hard. And this gorgeous man with his sweet, gentle son was twisting Steve up a bit.

When he couldn't drag it out anymore, he unhooked his leash from where it hung around his neck. Toast trotted over to have hers put on, and he waved the other leash in the air until Bear saw and made his slow way over. 

"Headed out?" Tony asked.

"Unfortunately. Got a work call in half an hour." Steve bent down at Bear's side, putting himself level with Peter. "Hey, bud, want to help me clip this on?" The boy held Bear's collar loop steady while Steve hooked the leash loop on, then he handed the end of the leash to the little boy whose eyes went wide, mouth falling open.

"We should head out too," Tony said.

"Will you help me walk him back to the car?" Steve asked.

"Can I?!" Petey squealed.

Steve shot a look to Tony who gave him a half nod half shrug. 

"Sure. I could use the help." Steve took Toast, who danced at the end of her leash, and led the way to the airlock gates. Bear padded along at the little boy's side, not really caring who held the leash or that he was on leash at all. 

When they were free of the gates, Bear snuffled his way through the grass and the boy clutched the loop of the leash to his chest and practically vibrated his way down the path towards the parking lot. "Daddy!" he finally yelped, "I'm walking a real dog!"

"I know, Pete! It's so awesome. Look at you go."

Steve reached the car with Toast and waited for Bear and the little family to catch up. He opened the back door and Toast jumped up.

"Where does Bear go?" Petey asked.

"In the back too. Want to help me get him in?"

Petey nodded so hard his head nearly fell off.

"Okay, here we go." Steve tossed the end of Bear's leash in the car and let him get his front legs situated then he let Petey push him from behind while Steve lifted around his waist and helped him hop in. All settled, Steve swung the door shut. "Thanks for the help!"

The kid vibrated in place, a huge grin splitting his face. 

"Say thanks, Peter," Tony reminded him.

"Thank you!" Peter squealed.

"No problem."

Tony batted the kid's head and he set off presumably towards where they lived. "Seriously, Steve. That made his fucking month. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, of course. It's nice, honest."

"Awesome. Well…" Tony's eyes flicked over Steve's face. "See you around."

"Bye, Tony."

**

Steve was sure that he wouldn't actually see Tony and his son around, but two weeks later, he was meandering through the park with Bear and Toast on either side when he heard a familiar voice squeal, "Bear!"

A tiny rocket in a heavy coat flew off the swings and blasted over to him before screeching to a halt ten feet away. Bouncing from foot to foot, Peter looked up at Steve like he was asking for nuclear launch codes and said, "Can I pet him again, please?"

"Of course." Steve handed the end of the leash to Peter, who looked close to fainting with excitement, and stepped back to let them cuddle.

Tony appeared at his side, a tablet tucked under his arm. "Hey, Steve, how are you?"

There was a pleasing flush at Tony remembering his name. "Not too bad, you?"

Tony waved the tablet. "Working from home cause kiddo wasn't feeling great, but he seems to have miraculously recovered."

Steve chuckled at Peter who now had his arms around Bear's neck and was singing softly to him. 

"I'm sure you have to finish your walk, though," Tony said, twisting up the end like a question. 

"Oh… it's - uh -" Steve found himself not wanting to leave Tony and Pete. The kid liked Bear so much and… "If you don't mind relocating to that bench over there I can throw the ball for Toast while Peter hangs out with Bear?"

"You don't mind?"

"Course not."

Tony instantly looked relieved. "That'd be awesome."

Steve and Tony walked side by side with Toast bounding along next to them, and Peter and Bear wandered behind them. Bear, as usual, was in his own world, stopping to sniff trees and pee on signposts, and Peter followed behind him, acting more like he was the one being taken for a walk than the other way around but clearly loving it.

When they reached the bench, Steve sat and unclipped Toast's leash. She did two huge loops around the park then came back and vibrated while Steve dug the ball out of his pocket. He threw it as far as he could and she shot off like a rocket.

"Wow. Some arm." Tony's voice sounded tight.

"I played ball in college," Steve said. "Fu- screwed up my shoulder, but I still remember how to pitch." He shot Tony a look, then flushed bright red as he realized the accidental innuendo. "Um."

But Tony just grinned back, his bottom lip disappearing between his teeth. "Handy skill." He cleared his throat. "Cause of the dogs."

"Uh huh."

"So… You live around here?"

Steve told Tony about his townhouse a few blocks over, explained that he usually walked to the dog park, but he'd been on his way back from the vet last time so he'd had the car. He told Tony about his work as a graphic designer, adopting the dogs, his mom, his best friend, everything.

And Tony told Steve about Peter starting grade three early, about working as an engineer, about how his parents had sided with his ex husband when they broke up. "They wanted us to stay together for Pete," he mumbled down at his hands. "I don't think they really cared that he was an asshole to me. He cheated on me while I was pregnant. Twice."

"Jesus, Tony. That guy's an asshole. You deserve better."

Tony shrugged with a self-deprecating laugh. "Sure. Well, Pete does, anyway, so we got out." Tony paused, eyes darting over to Peter who was picking blades of grass and offering them to Bear to sniff. Toast came back, panting heavily and dropped the ball at Tony's feet. He picked it up and threw it hard, making it skitter and bounce across the ground so she had to dive to catch it. "So what do you guys do for fun around here?"

They continued chatting until Toast flopped at Steve's feet, exhausted, and Peter came over and shoved his way up on the bench, announcing he was hungry. Steve reluctantly said his goodbyes. There was something about the way Tony's eyes hung on his before they parted at the end of the path that made Steve's heart skip a beat. He almost stopped, turned back, asked for Tony's phone number, but Tony had his kid to worry about, and a busy job and it just - Steve didn't want to be another source of stress.

**

It was three more weeks before Steve saw Tony and Peter again. They were at the park, using one of the public grills to cook something that smelled delicious and kicking a soccer ball back and forth. Toast perked up at the ball, head darting to and fro to track it while Bear started wagging as soon as they got close enough to see it was his best friend, Peter. 

"Hey Tony! Peter!"

"Steve! Bear!" Peter abandoned the ball and started motoring so fast he tripped. Steve shot forward and caught him under the arm before he faceplanted into the grass. 

"Whoa! You okay there, bud?" He righted Peter and straightened out his shirt, checking his face for signs of oncoming crying, but Peter just shook it off and launched himself into Bear's fur. Bear flopped down in the grass and let Peter spread out on top of him. Steve dropped the leash and straightened up to find Tony right beside them. "He's okay."

"Nice catch. You learn that playing ball too?" Tony laughed.

Steve chuckled and shook his head. "Uh… yes?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I teach kids' camps every summer and some over-eager five-year-old always tries to steal second face-first, so I guess I've got the reflexes now."

Tony seemed legitimately surprised at that. "You teach kids?"

"Yeah. Best part of the summer." 

Tony fiddled with his sleeves as he smiled slyly over, and Steve noted that he was wearing a big, bulky sweater even though the weather had taken a definite turn towards spring-proper and the sun was shining. Peter was in nothing but a long-sleeve t-shirt with a ladybug on it, somewhat clashing with his rubber boots which were decorated with neon dinosaurs. Steve wondered if Tony generally ran cold and fought with an urge to rub his hand up and down his arm to warm him up.

"Join us for dinner?" Tony offered, gesturing towards the grill.

"Oh, I don't want to impose."

"Seriously?" Tony laughed. "Come on, Steve, my kid is currently trying to climb  _ inside  _ your dog. Least I can do is share my hot dogs with you."

Steve glanced over to see Bear lying on his side, grinning, with his tongue flopped in the dirt and Peter spread completely flat over him, braiding his fur. "That'd be lovely, thank you."

Steve drew Peter into a very silly game of soccer which was mostly the two of them against Toast. Peter tried to pull Tony into the game but he claimed the food needed his attention. Steve's attention, however, kept drifting over his way, though, and more often than not, he seemed to just be watching them.

It was dark and cold and Bear and Toast were both asleep - and Peter was on his way there, pillowed in Tony's lap - by the time they packed up and parted ways.

Steve fell asleep with nothing but thoughts of Tony swimming in his head.

**

Over the next few days, Steve kept his head up as he walked through the park, moving more slowly, drawing it out, and sure enough, it wasn't long before he spotted Tony. It was just after dinner and he and Peter were playing catch. Or rather, Tony was tossing the ball gently in Peter's direction so Peter could miss it completely and then run after it, giggling, and Peter was whipping the ball violently in what appeared to be several random directions at once so Tony could trot after it resignedly when it finally landed. 

Steve stopped and watched for a few minutes, loath to interrupt their parent-child time, but Bear pulled on the leash, wanting to stick his head in a bush, and Steve was forced to look away and shuffle the few steps needed to give him access. Once Bear and Toast were both enjoying their sniffs, he looked up again and found that Tony had spotted him and was staring at him from across the open field.

Well, until Peter flung the ball enthusiastically in Tony's direction and it bounced off the side of his head.

"Ow!" Tony's hand came up to rub the side of his head, and Steve took off across the field at a jog. He got close enough to hear when Tony said, "Now you figure out aim? Really? Right now?"

Peter just laughed then squealed as he caught sight of Bear. Steve dropped both leashes and rushed to Tony's side. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Do you need to sit down?"

Tony smiled softly. His hand came up to cover Steve's, and Steve realized he had cupped the side of Tony's head, looking for injury. "I'm sure. He's six, Steve, we're not talking Roger Clemens, here."

"Okay." Steve let his hands fall away reluctantly. 

They ended up walking all together, and more than once, Steve saw Tony's hand come up to rub at the sore spot on the side of his head. It made his cheeks flush red hot when he realized how badly he wanted to kiss the pain away.

**

Over the next three weeks, Steve found himself running into Tony and Peter almost every night at the park. Steve made sure to leave around the same time as much as he could, and it seemed like they were doing the same. The thought that Tony was actively trying to run into him made Steve's stomach flutter with butterflies, and he stopped being able to keep a smile from splitting his face whenever they came into view. Then, after a few days of missing each other, or catching the end of the other's walk, Steve came to the end of the street, heart in his throat, to find Tony and Peter waiting for him.

After that, it became routine. If Tony and Peter weren't waiting for him, Steve went to the end of their street and waited. Every evening - except Wednesdays, because that was Peter's dance class so Tony worked late - they met by the park and walked together. Peter walked Bear and Steve and Tony threw the ball for Toast and talked about everything under the sun.

Peter's school year finished up in June, and they all celebrated with a picnic. Steve bought him a Duplo vet's office set and the little boy was over the moon, nestling all the pieces in Bear's fur while the big dog snored in the grass. 

"You didn't have to do that," Tony said softy, tugging at his oversized hoodie. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Steve packed up some of the tupperware containers from lunch. "Maybe we can all go for ice cream next week? We haven't done anything for your birthday yet."

Tony hesitated, and Steve regretted pushing immediately. He was careful never to make anything sound like a date. Tony didn't talk about his ex a lot, but when he did, his eyes always shadowed and his voice dropped low and flat. Steve never wanted to make him feel that way, but he couldn't lie that sometimes their daily walks just didn't feel like quite enough. He wanted more. He wanted to reach out and take Tony's hand. But Tony clearly wasn't ready, whole parts of his life kept at arms' length from Steve, so he cherished every little piece he got and hoped that some day Tony might let him have just a tiny bit more of him.

"Or not. If you're busy with work." Steve shrugged, waving a hand like it didn't matter.

"No, I - that sounds nice." Tony sat next to Steve on the picnic blanket. "He'll love it."

Two weeks later, Tony begged Steve to watch Peter for a few hours that Friday. "I'm so sorry, but his babysitter is sick, and his backup babysitter is out of town, and I have this fucky timezone, tele-meeting I absolutely can't miss. I tried to set it up to be from home, but there's papers to sign and - ugh."

"It's no problem, Tony, seriously. I'd love to."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Tony's shoulders sagged with relief. "Okay, wow. I can be done by our normal walk time and meet you at the park?"

"Sounds perfect."

Steve picked Peter up from his science day camp on Friday and walked him the four blocks back to his house. Peter started out talking endlessly about the science stuff he was learning, and Steve smiled and nodded along and said, "wow," where it seemed appropriate, but a lot of it was beyond him. From a six year old. It was humbling.

When he dug out the sidewalk chalk, though, the ball bounced back in his court, and he spent over an hour teaching Peter how to draw a few simple animals. With Steve's driveway completely coated in chalk, they went inside to wash their hands and have lunch. 

It was nice, having Peter in the house, munching on a chicken burger and feeding his carrots to Toast. It made it feel more homey, somehow, more lively. Peter's young enthusiasm filled the whole space, and by the time Tony was slated to meet them at the park, Steve's cheeks were sore from laughing. 

He walked Peter to the park with the dogs and the warmth in his chest only doubled when he saw Tony waiting for them by the gate. 

A month later, Steve got Tony to return the favour by leaving the dogs with him for two days while he visited his mother. He was flooded with pictures all weekend - half of which seemed to have been taken by Peter - of Bear and Toast being spoiled utterly rotten.

**

After one week of Tony not showing up for their walking dates - not dates,  _ not  _ dates - Steve was feeling pretty down. Two weeks, and he started to wonder if he'd said something to upset him. By three weeks and no Tony, Steve was getting really, really worried. 

He'd texted a few times in the first week, but gotten no response, and he really didn't know how else to take that other than a brush off. He'd thought things were going well. Tony obviously trusted him enough to look after Peter on his own, they smiled and laughed together, and more often than not, they walked close enough that the backs of their hands would brush together - and Tony didn't move away. 

But three weeks and no texts was a pretty clear message. Unless Tony was in trouble…

In the end, Steve couldn't handle not knowing anymore. He didn't know Tony's exact address, but he knew his street and it wasn't a long one. He'd just go look… not to bother Tony, but just to see if any houses were for sale. Maybe Tony moved?

Steve opted to leave the dogs at home and hit up the convenience store for bread and cheese so he could have grilled cheese for lunch. That meant he wasn't  _ just  _ going out to be weird and spy on his crush, right?

Sure.

He lived alone, though, so there was no one he had to justify it to - just two sets of puppy dog eyes when he picked up his keys but not the leashes. He made his way around the park the long way so he could head down Tony's street and end up at the corner store.

His heart fluttered when he recognized Tony's form bent over the mailbox at the end of a driveway about halfway up the street, and he trotted over. "Hey, Tony!" He started running through excuses to talk to him, but they all seemed incredibly awkward.

Tony spun around, shock morphing into terror on his face, and Steve opened his mouth to ask him what was wrong, and then he looked down.

Tony always wore big, loose sweaters on their walks, even in high summer, and Steve had assumed he ran cold or maybe he was a bit shy about some extra baby weight around his middle. Today, however, he was wearing a fitted t-shirt and this wasn't baby weight, this was -

Well.

It was a baby _ bump. _

Tony barked out a nervous laugh as Steve screeched to a halt, staring. "Could I convince you I had too many doughnuts for breakfast?" he joked, one hand coming to splay over his stomach. His fingers were shaking.

"Tony…" Steve took an uncertain step forward. Was this why Tony had disappeared?

"Fuck." Tony scraped a hand over his face. "I'm so sorry. I should have told you."

"You - so you knew -?" Steve couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from Tony's stomach.

"I mean... yeah. It's kind of hard to miss," Tony quipped, but Steve could hear the discomfort under his words. "I knew before we met. And then - and then I just didn't tell you. I hid it."

"Why?" Steve winced as the question wriggled its way out without permission. Tony didn't owe him an answer or an explanation. He didn't owe Steve  _ anything.  _ It wasn't like - it wasn't like - he swallowed heavily. 

Tony belonged to someone else. That was why he'd been keeping Steve away, not letting him into his life entirely. Jealousy flared up, hot and aching, in Steve's chest and he resisted the urge to turn on his heel and run. He'd been stupid to think that Tony could ever be his. Of course he was someone else's. And so was Peter, and so was this little one.

All of Tony's discomfort with dates was because he only wanted Steve as a friend - how could he have missed that? Six months and Tony had rebuffed all attempts to ease things towards something more intimate. Steve had just been making a fool of himself all along and Tony hadn't even trusted him enough to tell him he was pregnant. Steve cleared his throat and started to turn away. "Nevermind." It wasn't his business.

"No… No I -" Tony twitched towards him, like he didn't want Steve to leave and that made Steve still, waiting. "Will you come inside so we can talk? Peter's at a friend's house. I just -" he leaned in a little "- nosy neighbours," he added in a whisper.

"Yeah, sure. Okay." Steve followed Tony up the drive, feeling the sudden urge to offer his arm for support, even though Tony moved easily and comfortably, even as unbalanced-looking as he was.

Tony's house was sweet and cosy, the walls papered with Peter's artwork. It was bright and freshly painted, but it wasn't extravagant, just pleasant. Tony went to the kitchen and leaned against the crisp white counter of the little island. He gestured to a stool, but Steve felt too awkward to sit so he just hovered nearby. 

Tony put the mail he'd been carrying on the counter and fiddled with the edge of a flyer. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you. But… well, I knew if you knew you'd stop flirting with me. And I didn't want that to stop. So I kept putting it off."

Steve opened and closed his mouth a few times, at a loss for what to say. "Well… I shouldn't have been flirting with you, not if you're with someone - I -"

"No! No, I'm not. I'm single, honest. I -" Tony sighed heavily and rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I told you Peter's other dad and I broke up when Peter was a baby and it's true. But we got back together again about a year ago. I thought maybe with Peter being older, his dad might take an interest, want to get to know him, and it seemed like maybe he did. For a while. But at the end of the day…" Tony shrugged. "He left when he found out I was pregnant again. Six months ago. When I came to the dog park that day we met, I was trying to cheer Peter up after telling him his dad was gone… again."

"Tony, I'm so sorry…"

Tony shook his head. "It was stupid. It was stupid to trust him and end up in the same damn situation I was in six years ago. I don't think I even wanted him around. It just seemed important, somehow, that Peter have his real dad here. I just -" Tony sighed again. "Sorry. Anyway, I feel like you were owed the truth. It's okay if you want to leave now. I'll make sure Peter understands and doesn't blame you for it."

"I don't want to leave," Steve blurted out.

"What?"

"I don't want to leave. I don't - I don't want to stop flirting with you, if it's something you like. I - I like you, Tony. I want to be a part of your life."

But Tony shook his head. "No one wants a part of all this baggage." He gestured vaguely.

Steve frowned and pushed up off the counter, shifting closer. "Peter is not baggage. I don't know if you've noticed but I adore your kid, Tony. And I'm sure this new one's going to be just as amazing." Steve's hand itched to reach out towards Tony's belly but he shoved it in his pocket instead. "I understand if you're not ready to trust someone in your life like that, not after you've been hurt. But please don't push me out completely." He shuffled even closer and his heart soared when Tony didn't immediately back away. "At least let me keep being your friend."

"Really? You want to take a chance on all this crazy?"

"I really do."

"I'm about to have another man's baby," Tony reminded him, and Steve laughed. As if he could forget when all he wanted to do was reach out and run a hand over Tony's bump. But he didn't care about the other man part - someone he'd never met, could barely summon half an interest in. The baby was  _ Tony's baby.  _ That was what really mattered. And Steve just couldn't wait to meet them. 

"I know. And you've already had one and he's amazing and I wouldn't change a single thing about him. Have you really not noticed that I've been trying to date you for the last six months?"

Tony dropped his eyes to the floor. "I mean… I kind of noticed. But that was before this." He gestured to his stomach.

"I want that too," Steve whispered. "I want all of you."

"Okay," Tony breathed, eyes wide and bright. He reached up to cup Steve's face between his hands, and they weren't shaking anymore.

Steve leaned in a little more, waiting, yearning, and Tony ran his thumb over Steve's cheek, eventually, finally, meeting him in the middle to press their lips together. It was a soft, sweet kiss, nothing urging, nothing pushing, and Steve flushed right down to his toes like he'd been wrapped in a warm blanket. "Is this okay?" he murmured as they parted, and Tony nodded. 

Steve could no longer stop his hand from inching out towards Tony's stomach. "Can I?" he asked breathlessly.

"What? Oh! Of course." Tony took Steve's hand in his and pressed it down over his swollen abdomen. "Sorry, she's not really doing anything right now, but she does kick sometimes."

Steve's heart skipped a beat. "She?"

"Oh." Tony flushed. "Yeah. She. Don't have names yet, though. Uh, maybe… maybe you have some ideas?"

Steve smiled. "Yeah, maybe." Steve splayed his fingers over Tony's tummy, snuggling in closer so he could wrap the other arm around his waist. Tony sighed softly and leaned into his hold. He knew it would take time to earn Tony's trust, to build a solid relationship with Peter, and get let in behind the doors Tony kept closed in his heart. But it was time Steve was willing to take, if it meant getting to be a part of this amazing little family he'd fallen so deeply in love with over the last six months. "Are you going to bring Peter to the park tonight?"

"Actually… I was thinking about doing something else. It's his birthday on Saturday, and he's been so good with Bear and I was thinking… I don't think we have enough space for more dogs -" and Steve's heart fluttered at Tony considering Toast and Bear in any way part of his family "- but I thought maybe I'd take Peter down to the shelter and let him pick out a cat? If you think it's a good idea." Tony laced his fingers with Steve's. "One that's good with dogs, of course."

"I think that's a wonderful idea."

"You'll come right? I don't know what questions to ask."

Steve thought about going out with Tony and Peter, holding Tony's hand, kissing his cheek, having everyone know he was his. And helping Peter pick a pet, taking the cats out one by one and teaching him how to pet them gently and dangle a toy to make them pounce. It almost hurt he wanted it so badly. "Of course I'll come, Tony." He hugged him close, sighing when Tony's weight relaxed against his chest. "I'll always come."


End file.
